A/N: Thank you once again for your lovely reviews, they mean so much to me! This chapter was a bit more challenging to write, I wanted to be sure to do it justice. England by The National kept me company as I wrote this one.

Our flight to Paris landed the following morning and by noon we had arrived at our home in Normandy. Rosalie and Emmett, having crossed the channel the night before, had opened up the house after our long absence. It had not been lived in since 1962, when a particularly violent slip-up by Jasper had caused us to leave the country for several years. I was sure there would be talk in the nearby village about the isolated manor house being occupied once again. But with a local tradition of homes being passed down in the family it would be easy enough to fabricate a story about some distant cousin from overseas inheriting the ivy-covered residence.

I had decided to wait until nightfall before running to Volterra. It would be quicker than taking a circuitous route by car. Part of me wished to remain with everyone else for a few days, but as Alice had not had any more visions regarding my visit with the Volturi I maintained that it was more prudent to go as soon as possible. We had hoped that when we made the decision to fly to France that it would have set in motion a more precise vision of what awaited me. But for now, there had been nothing but radio silence.

Esme and I had spent the prior evening trying everything we could think of to get a hold of Edward. Each call went unanswered. Every attempt cutting right to voicemail, of which we left several. Jasper had even tried to track any credit card purchases, thinking that if Edward had paid for lodging somewhere we might have been able to contact the hotel directly. But he was traveling as a nomad, leaving no paper trail. I refused to admit to the others how distressed it made me feel to go into this without having spoken to him first.

Since opening the letter back in Ithaca, Esme and I had not left each other's side. Neither of us spoke of the anxious dread coursing through us but we were no longer capable of putting on false smiles and repeating empty reassurances. Now, as the sun raced towards the horizon, indicating my imminent departure, the six of us congregated in the main room of the house. Each of my family members had been processing everything in their own way. Emmett was upset that I would not allow him to accompany me, though his eagerness for a fight would likely cause more harm than good. Rosalie tried to pass off Aro's request as nothing more than a desire to see an old friend, but a heavy uneasiness emanated from her every time she spoke. Alice stood by the paned window with her eyes closed, desperate for any sign of my future in Volterra. And Jasper was clearly struggling beneath the distressing emotions radiating around the room.

I spoke, my voice maintaining its usual calm and collectedness, "If Edward reaches out, you must make him understand that it is imperative for him to join you here directly. I forbid him to follow me to Italy. I am not afraid of whatever Aro is scheming. My only fear is his discovery of our family's extra gifts. He is a collector of all things rare, and your abilities would be too good for him to pass up. He would go to great lengths to count a mind-reader, an empath, and a clairvoyant amongst his ranks."

"Carlisle! We would never-" Alice interjected.

A genuine smile bloomed on my face, her fierce loyalty warming the room around us. "I know, Alice. But I do not know how far he would be willing to take things should you be placed in a situation where you must refuse him." My smile shrank back down into a pensive frown. "He will, with no doubt, attempt to sift through my thoughts. I will do my best to avoid his prying mind. I may have some practice after living with Edward for a century, but Aro's gift is much more pervasive. I'm not confident that I could hide everything."

Our goodbyes were brief. Everyone refused to imagine this as a final parting. After embracing Esme, I placed my hands on her cheeks and held her gaze. "I will be back soon, love. After all, I promised you forever." We both smiled at the memory of our quiet wedding almost a century before. The vows we had spoken. The promises we had made.

"Be careful, Carlisle. See what Aro wants and then come home, come home to your family."

I arrived in Volterra just after midnight. The town was quiet, only one café remained open from which I could hear laughter coming from the night's last stragglers. As soon as I had crossed into town I could tell that I was being watched. By now Aro would know that I had obeyed his summons.

Having slipped through the shadows and made my way to the castle, I paused in the deserted courtyard. My fingers grasped the wedding ring on my left hand, twisting the simple silver band back and forth. An anxious movement. A means to seek comfort and a reminder of all that it represented: love and belonging, loyalty and devotion. The forever it promised. Fidgeting was a learned behavior for vampires but after centuries of living among humans I found myself doing such things almost subconsciously.

Before I could decide whether or not I should knock or simply enter the castle, a familiar voice spoke from behind me. Familiar, despite the centuries that had passed since I had seen him last.

"Well, I see you wasted no time."

Turning towards the voice I nodded my head in greeting, "Demitri. Yes, well, in the more than 200 years since I left, Aro has never requested my presence in Volterra. I assumed it must be rather urgent."

"A request? It seems to me as though it was an order," Demitri sneered.

"That may well be the case. Regardless, out of respect for my old friend I preferred not to delay."

My attendant nodded and opened the door, gesturing for me to enter ahead of him. The heavy wooden door made no noise as it closed behind us. Though it did shut out the glowing light from the moon, casting the entryway into darkness. Demitri took off silently down the corridor, I followed a few paces behind. It soon became apparent that he was accompanying me directly to the throne room. I felt myself gulp, the only physical sign of my growing anxiousness. Another unnecessary human mannerism.

All too quickly we arrived in front of the towering oak doors. Demitri knocked twice and they swung open, revealing the imposing space so familiar to me. Not a thing had changed, with the exception of a handful of new guard members. Aro clapped his hands together and came down the steps, a warm but disingenuous smile plastered across his face. Oh Esme, how I wished I could slip my hand into yours at that moment. I knew doing so would bolster my courage but I was thankful that she was far from that place.

"Carlisle! My dear friend, it has been too long!"

I felt myself smile, a weak attempt to hide the growing despair inside of me. Being in this room again prompted a flurry of memories to overrun my thoughts. Flashbacks of the violence I had witnessed reminded me of why I had left in the first place.

"Aro. Yes, I must say I was surprised by your letter. I trust you are well?"

Another empty smile on his part, "Very". Without taking his eyes off me he spoke once more, "Demitri? I daresay it is time you go and awaken our guest." Demetri bowed and took his leave. Aro's order confused me. A human guest? And why the change of subject, did he mean to distract me? Surely he was not going to try and convince me to change my dietary habits once again. On a number of occasions during my prior stay here I had been summoned to this chamber to watch as they fed, as Aro studied my resolve in fascination.

"You've been busy, Carlisle, since we last saw you. Managing a coven of your own. You proved us wrong of course, having convinced not one but six other vampires to adopt your...peculiar tastes." The direction his speech was taking troubled me, my most fervent wish going into this had been to avoid the topic of my family. To spare them any involvement with what he had in mind. Holding my hands behind my back I grasped my ring once more, twisting it back and forth on my finger.

"If you would be so gracious as to allow me to catch up on your exploits, I am most intrigued to discover how you have fared since we last parted ways. I would be honored if you would accord me an inside view of your unusual lifestyle," a malicious eagerness dripped from every word he spoke. His formal speech came across as mocking instead of simple courteousness. I had feared this moment, knowing it would be nearly impossible for me to hide my family's rare gifts from him. He raised his eyebrows in expectation, a ghostly white hand sliding out of the sleeve of the black cloak before coming to rest in the air between us. His eyes darkened as he beckoned me forward.

"Is that really necessary Aro? I trust you know that I will answer any questions you put forth?"

Aro smiled as though he had been anticipating such a response, "Even a question, that if answered truthfully, would incriminate you, Carlisle?"

My mind scrambled for a response but Aro continued, speaking more to the room at large than to me, "The way I see it, this was inevitable considering the lifestyle you have chosen. Working and living in constant contact with the human population. To be honest, I am surprised we did not run into this problem sooner. As curious and compassionate as you are, I knew the temptation of building rapport with the humans would be impossible to ignore." Several in the chamber snickered upon hearing his derisive tone. "Now, that is not to say that I wished such an outcome to befall you. When you took your leave from Volterra all those years ago I wished you nothing but success. And I spoke with honesty."

He took a step closer, extending his hand once more in my direction. Never had I felt more ill at ease. I feared I would rub a hole right through my wedding band, my right hand still twisting it in soothing circles around my finger. I thought of my family, of the gifts that Aro would no doubt scheme to secure if made aware of their power. Resolve thrummed through my being, I would not allow him to gain access to those thoughts. There was no need to give voice to my refusal, he could read it in the steel of my eyes as I met his cold stare. All pretense of amity abandoned.

At the same time that I came to my decision, three things happened in quick succession. Aro stopped his advance in my direction and dropped his hand to his side. The door behind me opened and Aro's eyes gleamed at whatever he saw, surely the source of the racing heartbeat now echoing in the chamber. He turned his attention to me once more. A look of disgust followed by one of manic excitement flashed across his face as he shifted a glance to his left.

Before I could follow his gaze to see what he saw, my nerves erupted into flame. My back arched, my heart seeking in vain an escape from the fire. My eyes widened but remained unseeing, before at last I fell to my knees. All coherent thoughts flew from my head, dissipating into wisps of smoke. The burning was everything and everywhere, the pain crippling and all-consuming. I felt myself fall forward, my stone form colliding with the marble beneath it as my body continued to convulse. In the distance I thought I heard someone yell my name but I could no longer control my limbs, could not bring myself to turn my head and look for who cried out so desperately. In some deep recess of my mind, hidden beneath the flames, a part of me recognized that voice. An urge to protect whoever it was surged through me but I remained incapacitated in agony.

Then, just as soon as it started, the burning disappeared. In one fluid motion I pushed myself up onto my knees and sat back for a moment on my heels. Clutching the ring behind my back I closed my eyes to gain some composure, the embodiment of Alice's cryptic vision. And then I heard her, the voice who had screamed out my name as I lay burning. Bella.